Author Archives: Cecelia Dowdy

Raspberry Kisses – Now Available For Pre-Order!

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Raspberry Kisses is now available for pre-order!

Facing eviction, Rhea Morrison, a young grieving widow, must save her failing bakery. Her recently-injured twin sister, Raven, loans her money – stipulating Rhea attend a singles retreat to spy on Martin Lane, Raven’s new love interest. Disgruntled, Rhea attends the retreat and is attracted to Martin. She discovers that Martin can help save her bakery.

 Pastor Martin laments over his secret, traumatic past mistakes. He’s destined to lead his father’s church, despite blatant rejection. He can’t love Rhea – he’s yet to forgive himself for his past, and if Rhea knew how he used to be, she would have no interest in pursuing a relationship with him. In spite of their shared attraction, he helps Rhea form a plan to save her business. Martin, a former successful bakery owner, can expertly create delicious pastry recipes.

 Rhea feels torn about her attraction to Martin – he’s a pastor, and after her husband’s death, she vowed to never get involved with another pastor. Plus, her twin sister, Raven, has strong feelings for Martin. Can Rhea let herself have romantic feelings for Martin – knowing it would hurt her sister?

 Can Martin and Rhea overcome their past so that they’re free to love again?

– See more at: http://ceceliadowdy.com/bakery-romance-series/#sthash.HMPsIAti.dpuf

Sunday Brunch! Moses’s Son?

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Was the Lord going to kill Moses’s son because he was not circumcised?

After Moses sees the burning bush, and the Lord tells him about his calling to go and free his people out of Egypt, Moses reluctantly accepts the Lord’s calling and makes a journey back to his homeland. On the way, they stop at a lodging place and you read the following scripture:

Exodus 4:24-26New International Version (NIV)

24 At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses** and was about to kill him. 25 But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. 26 So the Lord let him alone. (At that time she said “bridegroom of blood,” referring to circumcision.)

**My NIV Bible has a footnote stating: or Moses’s son

This strange scripture kind of jumps out of the middle of nowhere, and it leaves me puzzled. Right after this scripture, the story resumes and the Lord tells Aaron to go and meet Moses in the desert.
Any insight about what this strange scripture means? Had the Lord never seen Moses’s son disrobed before this scripture, and he was angered when he saw that he’d not been circumcised? Did the Lord vocally tell his intentions to Zipporah (Moses’s wife) and that’s why she did a quick circumcision of her son?
I’ve asked some of my friends what this scripture means. They were not even aware of this scripture, did not recall seeing it before. So, I pulled a Bible out and showed them and they were just as puzzled as I. Leave a comment of you have any insight that you’d like to share.

Waking Up Joy by Tina Ann Forkner

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Waking Up Joy by Tina Ann Forkner

Do you remember your first love? How long did it take you to get over the pain after the breakup?

Joy, a forty-something spinster in a small town, falls into a coma because of a freak accident. While unconscious, she hears conversations by her somewhat dysfunctional family. Jimmy, her love interest from twenty plus years ago, attempts to kiss her while she’s unconscious.

This book was deep. Told in the first person, you learn all about Joy’s life, how she’s pined after the same man for twenty-plus years. Her old beau, Jimmy, ended up marrying someone else. But, their love was shattered one day and a dark secret haunts Joy, and initially, she can’t get over her pain.

But, this book is about Joy’s journey, as she learns to deal with her pain. You also see her interacting with her weird family, as well as her ex, Jimmy. Sparks still fly between Joy and Jimmy, and Joy wonders why Jimmy has not made an attempt to befriend her since his wife died five years ago.

This book also shows that we can’t rely on charms, magic apple trees, and superstitions for happiness. We need to rely on our Heavenly Father for happiness.

So, do you remember your first love? How long did it take you to get over the pain after the breakup?

 

 

Sunday Brunch! Moses!

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Why didn’t Pharoah object to his daughter raising Moses, a Hebrew, under his roof as her own son?

Pharoah’s daughter took in a Hebrew baby and raised him as a son. Her father, the Pharoah, was trying to kill the new-born Hebrew male children because the Hebrews were multiplying so quickly. I also gather that the Hebrews looked much different from the Egyptians?

Wouldn’t her father have objected to his daughter, raising one of his “enemies” under his own roof as her son? I’m wondering what kind of dialog went on between father and daughter? Did Pharoah finally relent and let her keep the baby just to appease her? Did Pharoah figure that keeping this one child alive could bring no harm? What do you think happened between father and daughter on this day?

Exodus 2:8-10
8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother. 9 Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.”

Promise To Cherish

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Promise To Cherish

Have you, or anybody you know,  ever worked in a mental hospital?

Christine works as a nurse in a mental hospital during World War II. She meets Eli, an Amish conscientious objector. Initially, there’s animosity between them since Christine has lost her brothers in the war, yet, Eli does not have to fight because it goes against his faith. This story takes a traumatic turn when Christine dates Jack, a handsome man who was a friend of one of her deceased brothers.

I enjoyed this novel because it’s not your typical Amish book. Since the story takes place in the thirties, and deals with war, it gives the book a different flavor than most Amish stories. It also shows how Christine deals with pain and grief. Reading about a mental hospital in the 1930’s also gave this novel a unique feel. A mental hospital was a terrible place to be, and we see how Christine and Eli deal with the patients. You see the horrific conditions to which the patients are subjected. It’s a really good, realistic read.

Have you, or anybody you know,  ever worked in a mental hospital? If so what was it like? Were you close to any of your patients?

 

 

 

Raspberry Kisses – Seeking Beta Readers

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Are you willing to read my novel, give feedback, before I publish it? All I ask is that if you enjoy the novel, you leave a review on Amazon, or some other commercial website (like Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, etc.) once the book is released. I plan on releasing the novel later this year. Email me at dowdywriter (at) aol (dot) com if interested! It’s a Christian contemporary romance novel! Here’s a summary of Raspberry Kisses:

Facing eviction, Rhea Morrison, a young grieving widow, must save her failing bakery. Her recently-injured twin sister, Raven, loans her money – stipulating Rhea attend a singles retreat to spy on Martin Lane, Raven’s new love interest. Disgruntled, Rhea attends the retreat and is attracted to Martin. She discovers that Martin can help save her bakery.

 Pastor Martin laments over his secret, traumatic past mistakes. He’s destined to lead his father’s church, despite blatant rejection. He can’t love Rhea – he’s yet to forgive himself for his past, and if Rhea knew how he used to be, she would have no interest in pursuing a relationship with him. In spite of their shared attraction, he helps Rhea form a plan to save her business. Martin, a former successful bakery owner, can expertly create delicious pastry recipes.

 Rhea feels torn about her attraction to Martin – he’s a pastor, and after her husband’s death, she vowed to never get involved with another pastor. Plus, her twin sister, Raven, has strong feelings for Martin. Can Rhea let herself have romantic feelings for Martin – knowing it would hurt her sister?

 Can Martin and Rhea overcome their past so that they’re free to love again?

 

SOUL INSPIRATIONZ

 

Sunday Brunch – Samson and Delilah!

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Did Samson’s lust affect his logic?

I’ve always wondered about this, so I decided to devote a Sunday Brunch blog post to this topic. In Judges, Chapter 16, the Philistine rulers approached Delilah since they knew that Samson was in love with her. They wanted to know the secret to Samson’s strength. The rulers offered to give Delilah money if she could tell them his secret.

What’s always stumped me was Delilah asked Samson FOUR TIMES, about the secret of his strength. The first three of those four times he lied to her, and, afterwards, he always fell asleep and found himself bound with offending material, and Delilah was always yelling about the approaching Philistines. Samson always easily escaped from the ropes, fabric, thongs, etc. since these items did not deplete his strength (although he’d told Delilah otherwise).

I’ve always thought that sometime during those first three times, Samson would’ve gotten a clue that Delilah had an agenda. It was so obvious considering the pattern of events. However, he ended up telling her the truth eventually, and that caused his downfall.

Do you think that Samson was so overcome with lust and love for Delilah that he couldn’t think clearly? He didn’t seem to be very smart!

I think his lust overcame his logic. Also, the scriptures mention that the Lord came upon Samson numerous times. Perhaps this was the way that the Lord wanted the events to occur?

Feel free to share your thoughts!

~Cecelia Dowdy~